No.  6 


Vol.  XII 


NOVEMBER  1,  1913 


Ohio  Wesleyan  University 


BULLETIN 


The  Study  of  Missions 

EDMUND  DAVISON  SOPER,  B.  A.,  B.  D,,  D.  D., 
PROFESSOR  OF  MISSIONS  AND  COMPARATIVE  RELIGION 


Issued  Bi-Monthly 


i :N»v  (HKSTTY 

Entered  February  24,  1902,  at  Delaware,  Ohio, 
under  Act  of  Congress,  July  16? 


THE  STUDY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  IN 
THE  COLLEGE  CURRICULUM 


There  are  three  distinct  lines  of  approach  to  the  study 
of  Christian  Missions  in  the  field  of  higher  education.  The 
critical  investigation  of  missionary  history  and  missionary 
problems  lies  within  the  scope  of  the  research  work  of  the 
university.  The  outstanding  example  of  this  form  of  the 
study  of  missions  is  the  department  of  missions  in  the 
University  of  Halle,  for  many  years  in  charge  of  the  late 
Prof.  Gustav  Warneck.  Courses  in  Missions  are  now  being 
offered  in  a number  of  theological  seminaries.  Here  the 
objective  is  the  training  of  prospective  missionaries  and  the 
flitting  of  pastors  to  be  effective  agents  of  the  missionary 
enterprise  in  the  home  church.  Still  another  phase,  that  in 
which  we  are  particularly  interested  in  this  paper,  is  the 
study  of  missions  by  college  undergraduates  working  for 
their  B.  A.  or  B.  S.  degree. 

For  four  years  it  has  been  the  privilege  of  the  writer  to 
be  engaged  in  the  organization  and  conduct  of  a depart- 
ment of  missions.  While  courses  in  missions  have  fre- 
quently been  offered  in  connection  with  other  departments, 
this  is  the  first  attempt,  so  far  as  he  is  aware,  that  has  been 
made  to  organize  a department  which  shall  take  its  place  on 
an  equality  with  all  other  departments,  and  to  which  has 
been  called  an  instructor  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  this 
one  subject. 

One  of  the  first  problems  that  presented  itself  was  the 
relation  of  the  proposed  study  of  Christian  Missions  to  the 
missionary  propaganda.  Could  the  study 
RELATION  TO  of  missions  be  separated  from  the  urgency 
MISSIONARY  of  the  propaganda  so  as  to  become  an  ade- 
PROPAGANDA  quate  college  discipline?  The  full  answer 
to  this  question  will  become  evident  as  we 
proceed.  Just  here  it  may  be  well,  however,  to  consider  one 
of  the  bearings  of  this  relationship.  That  there  is  some 


I 


relationship  between  the  study  and  the  propaganda  is  quite 
clear.  But  in  this  respect  the  study  of  missions  is  not  alone 
among  college  studies.  To  take  one  illustration,  the  study 
of  economics  cannot  but  be  closely  related  to  interest  in  tax- 
ation and  banking.  It  would  not  be  thought  incongrous 
for  a professor  of  economics  to  give  himself,  so  far  as  his 
time  would  allow,  to  the  advocacy  of  economic  reform. 
Then,  too,  theories  should  be  corrected  by  reference  to 
actual  conditions,  and  this  contact  will  be  all  the  more  ad- 
vantageous when  it  is  accompanied  by  the  glow  of  genuine, 
heartfelt  devotion.  While  this  is  always  true,  it  must  be 
doubly  emphasized  in  the  teaching  of  missions.  A mere 
scholastic  interest,  unconcerned  with  the  success  of  the 
propaganda,  would  not  command  the  attention  of  students 
eager  to  feel  the  pulse  of  the  life-currents  of  the  present- 
day  world.  And,  after  all,  do  we  not  want  our  college 
training  to  eventuate  in  life  ? What  better  hope  could  one 
who  teaches  missions  to  college  students  have  than  that  out 
of  his  classes  might  come  not  only  missionaries,  but  preach- 
ers with  a world-wide  view,  lawyers  with  a sense  of  obliga- 
tion to  a wider  clientele  than  that  which  brings  financial 
return,  business  men  who  will  make  money  not  only  for 
themselves  but  for  the  neglected  ones  who  have  a right  to 
expect  a share  of  the  blessings  that  have  come  to  the  more 
highly  favored?  This  hope  and  expectation  lie  deep  down 
in  the  heart  of  the  writer,  and  disappointment  here  would 
be  as  serious  as  any  that  could  be  experienced. 

Let  us  now  give  ourselves  to  the  definite  scholastic  ques- 
tion to  which  we  have  addressed  ourselves.  While  there  is 
this  necessary  relationship  between  the  study  of  missions 
and  the  propaganda,  the  propaganda  is  secondary.  The 
first  interest  for  us  at  this  time  is  the  place  of  the  study  of 
missions  in  the  college  curriculum. 

At  the  very  beginning  it  will  be  well  to  set  ourselves 
right  with  the  educator  by  expressing  the  earnest  conviction 
that  the  study  of  missions  should  stand  on  the 
BASIS  OF  same  platform  with  all  other  courses.  The  in- 
STUDY  tegrity  of  the  college  curriculum  must  be  main- 
tained. Missions  must  ask  no  special  favors. 
If  missions  cannot  be  admitted  into  the  curriculum  on 
reasonable  grounds,  then  missions  must  be  excluded.  Let 


2 


this  be  seen  very  clearly.  No  reasons  snch  as  intense  inter- 
est, greatness  of  the  propaganda,  need  of  men  and  money, 
can  be  used  to  justify  the  inclusion  of  missions  in  the  college 
curriculum.  That  high  place  is  reserved  for  the  subjects 
which  win  the  approval  of  those  who  are  strenuous  in 
maintaining  a high  standard  of  educational  efficiency.  It 
is  at  the  bar  of  scholastic  values  that  the  study  of  missions 
must  make  its  case  to  he  granted  a place  in  the  curriculum. 
More  than  this,  courses  in  missions  must  do  their  share  in 
maintaining  scholarly  ideals,  when  they  have  won  their 
place.  It  would  be  a sad  day  for  this  new  college  study 
were  it  to  be  looked  upon  as  ‘ ‘ easy,  ’ ’ were  no  serious  study 
required,  and  were  recitations  and  examinations  not  looked 
upon  as  real  tests  of  mental  efficiency. 

In  relating  the  study  of  missions  to  the  college  curricu- 
lum, two  questions  have  very  naturally  presented  them- 
selves. What  is  the  purpose  of  the  college  course?  and, 
What  are  the  criteria  by  which  the  value  of  a study  is  to  be 
judged  ? These  questions  are  far  larger  than  their  particu- 
lar application  to  our  present  inquiry.  Still,  an  answer 
more  or  less  satisfactory  must  be  forthcoming  before  an 
adequate  basis  can  be  laid  for  the  introduction  of  missions 
into  the  curriculum. 

Whatever  else  may  be  said,  educators  are  quite  generally 
agreed  that  the  college  course  is  the  high  vantage-point  for 
securing  a workable  view  of  life,  the  work- 
PURPOSE  shop  where  convictions  are  hammered  out 

OF  COLLEGE  and  principles  discovered  which  shall  be  the 
COURSE  touchstone  of  all  subsequent  endeavor.  It 

is  not  a professional  school  on  the  one  hand, 
nor  is  it  a university  devoted  to  research  and  minute  in- 
vestigation on  the  other.  Both  of  these  are  necessary,  but 
they  are  not  the  college.  We  in  the  college  would  make 
men  and  women,  strong  in  character,  with  sane  views  of 
life,  with  wide  intellectual  horizon,  well  founded  in  the 
rudiments  of  an  education,  with  the  ability  to  use  facts  and 
combine  them  into  conclusions  as  the  occasion  may  demand. 
In  other  words,  they  must  know  how  to  act  and  how  to 
think.  This  at  least  is  our  ideal. 

In  saying  this,  we  are  only  voicing  what  is  being  felt  so 
keenly  in  wide  circles  today,  that  the  college  must  not  be 


3 


lost  in  vocationalism.  This  would  make  utility,  and  fre- 
quently utility  of  a very  materialistic  cast,  the  standard  of 
efficiency.  More  must  be  made  of  culture  and  character 
as  the  tests  of  efficiency.  These  cannot  he  valued  in  dollars 
and  cents,  but  they  make  a man  a better  citizen,  more 
appreciative  of  all  that  is  wholesome  and  beautiful  in  liter- 
ature, in  art,  and  in  society.  With  this  emphasis  upon 
broad  culture,  let  it  not  be  thought  that  everything  which 
savors  of  the  vocational  is  to  he  excluded.  That  could  not 
be.  It  is  not  possible  to  present  any  college  study  which 
may  not  be  of  practical  value  to  some  student  in  his  voca- 
tion. But  the  vocational  is  secondary.  It  is  the  by-product 
of  the  college  course.  The  primary  value  is  the  cultural, 
and  from  this  place  it  must  not  be  removed.  The  English 
Bible  is  taught  first  for  its  cultural  value,  but  it  cannot 
result  otherwise  than  as  a valuable  part  of  the  preparation 
of  the  minister.  So  with  physics  for  the  engineer  and 
chemistry  for  the  physician.  In  each  case  we  run  the 
danger  of  losing  the  high  cultural  tone^  of  our  college  life  if 
we  surrender  the  primacy  to  the  professional  or  vocational 
demands,  and  not  keep  them  always  as  by-products. 

These  principles  may  be  applied  very  strictly  to  the 
study  of  missions.  There  is  no  doubt  that  a course  on  China 
would  be  of  value  to  one  who  had 
THE  CONTRIBUTION  chosen  that  as  his  field  of  labor  for 
OF  MISSIONS  life,  but  he  must  understand  that  the 

course  is  planned  with  another  pur- 
pose. It  is  intended  to  contribute  to  the  broad  view  of  life 
a man  takes  with  him,  whatever  he  may  have  chosen  for  his 
profession.  A business  man  will  live  a larger  life  by  a 
sympathetic  study  of  the  Chinese  and  their  problems,  and 
likewise  the  lawyer,  the  teacher,  and  the  minister.  This, 
then,  is  the  primary  purpose.  It  is  to  destroy  narrowness, 
and  give  men  and  women  a world-consciousness.  Japan  is 
called  a civilized  nation,  China  is  making  the  experiment 
of  a republic,  India  groans  under  the  heavy  weight  of 
ignorance  and  social  oppression,  the  Near  East  is  aglow 
with  promises  of  political  freedom  and  liberty  of  conscience, 
and  our  Latin- American  neighbors  feel  that  they  will  be 
able  soon  to  call  themselves  grown  children  in  the  family  of 
nations.  Can  an  educated  man  be  said  to  deserve  the  dis- 


4 


tinction  without  a knowledge  of  these  facts?  We  may  even 
put  it  in  this  fashion,  Can  a college  afford  not  to  give  to  its 
students  the  opportunity  to  catch  the  meaning  of  the  world 
movement,  the  uplift  of  the  backward  peoples,  the  civiliz- 
ing influence  of  education,  and  the  regeneration  which 
follows  in  the  wake  of  the  missionary  pioneer  ? This  is  the 
purpose  of  the  study  of  missions,  nothing  less  than  to  place 
a man  advantageously  in  the  world  which  surrounds  him, 
and  make  him  the  more  useful  because  of  his  contact  with  it. 

That  this  idea  is  already  beginning  to  take  hold  of  lead- 
ers in  the  educational  field  is  to  be*  seen  in  a resolution 
adopted  by  the  University  Senate  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  at  its  meeting  in  January,  1912.  We  quote  the 
resolution  here  in  full,  since  it  sums  up  the  whole  situation 
most  excellently : 

“We  believe  that  in  our  denominational  colleges 
it  is  both  proper  and  important  that  Christian  liter- 
ature, history,  and  morals  be  studied. 

“In  accordance  with  that  belief,  we  have  hereto- 
fore urged  that  courses  in  the  English  Bible,  in 
ethics,  and  the  like,  be  included  in  the  curriculum, 
and  be  placed  on  a footing  of  equality  with  other 
departments  in  standards  and  credit.  We  wish  now 
specifically  to  commend  the  study  of  Christian  mis- 
sions as  suitable  for  college  use,  and  to  suggest  that 
this  study  is  likely  to  be  most  generally  useful  when 
treated,  not  narrowly  and  technically  as  preparation 
for  missionaries,  but  rather,  broadly,  historically, 
and  philosophically,  as  a general  cultural  study,  as  in 
the  case  of  economics,  sociology,  or  the  philosophy  of 
religion.  ’ ’ 

The  second  question  proposed  may  now  be  taken  up. 
What  are  the  criteria  by  which  the  value  of  a study  is  to  be 
judged?  In  the  first  place,  any 
subject  taught  in  the  college  course 
must  furnish  mental  discipline. 
By  mental  discipline,  of  course,  is 
meant  the  development  of  the 
power  of  acquiring  and  assimilat- 
ing facts,  the  power  of  discrimina- 
tion in  appreciating  values,  and  the 


WHAT  STUDIES 
HAVE  A RIGHT 
IN  CURRICULUM 

I.  MUST  FURNISH 
MENTAL  DISCIPLINE 


5 


power  of  clear,  logical  thought.  For  the  veriest  tyro  in  the 
study  of  missions  it  soon  becomes  evident  that  the  demands 
made  upon  the  memory  and  upon  the  judgment  constitute 
a real  tax  upon  a student’s  mental  equipment.  Mental 
discipline,  however,  has  an  even  more  serious  function.  It 
must  train  the  student,  not  only  to  acquire  and  discrim- 
inate, but  to  combine  his  acquisitions  into  justifiable  con- 
clusions. Do  our  colleges  train  students  to  think  ? Do  they 
not  fail  here  more  seriously  than  at  any  other  point  ? But 
it  remains  our  chief  function,  and  missions  must  be  able  to 
make  its  contribution  here  or  be  considered  a failure  as  a 
college  discipline.  The  experience  of  four  years  has  dem- 
onstrated that  the  claims  made  by  historical,  economic,  and 
social  studies  can  be  paralleled  by  the  study  of  missions. 
Only  want  of  space  forbids  the  use  of  illustrations  to  make 
this  point  clear  in  detail. 

The  second  standard  to  be  proposed  is  this,  is  the  subject 
matter  of  the  course  important  ? When  all  is  said  and  done, 
are  the  facts  presented  and  the  conclu- 
2.  THE  SUBJECT  sions  reached  worth  while?  And  even 
MATTER  MUST  admitting  that  they  have  real  value,  are 
BE  IMPORTANT  they  of  sufficient  value  to  form  a part 
of  the  ground  work  of  a man’s  educa- 
tion? Most  educated  men  make  a special  study  of  impor- 
tant questions  in  after  life  which  could  scarcely  justify 
themselves  in  the  college  curriculum.  In  no  sense  let  us 
evade  the  full  force  of  the  question.  We  need  only  take  a 
cursory  view  of  missions  to  discover  how  strong  the  claim 
really  is.  What  was  the  movement  in  the  history  of  the 
Roman  Empire  that  chiefly  affected  the  direction  of  its 
ultimate  development  ? It  can  be  summed  up  in  the  title  of 
Prof.  Harnack’s  great  work,  “The  Mission  and  Expansion 
of  Christianity  in  the  First  Three  Centuries.”  What  ex- 
planation can  be  given  for  the  development  out  of  barbar- 
ism of  our  forefathers  in  Northern  Europe?  Again  the 
answer  may  be  given  in  the  title  of  a book,  that  of  Prof. 
Maclear’s  classic  study,  “The  History  of  Christian  Missions 
in  the  Middle  Ages.”  Coming  down  into  modern  times  we 
find  the  whole  world  aglow  with  new  life.  How  can  we  ac- 
count for  it?  Many  factors  enter  into  the  answer,  yet  it  is 
quite  possible  to  find  underneath  all  other  causes  the  often 


6 


forgotten  work  of  the  Christian  missionary.  It  was  Lord 
Lawrence,  Viceroy  of  India,  who  said,  “I  believe,  notwith- 
standing all  that  the  English  people  have  done  to  benefit  the 
country  (India),  the  missionaries  have  done  more  than  all 
other  agencies  combined/  And  that  was  written  at  a day 
when  missions  in  India  were  a small  factor  as  compared 
with  today.  The  same  is  true  of  China.  A Republic  would 
not  have  been  thought  of  had  it  not  been  for  the  work  of  the 
missionary  educator.  In  his  latest  book,  “The  Opening  Up 
of  Africa, ’ 9 Sir  Harry  Johnston,  one  of  the  highest  author- 
ities on  Africa  and  its  problems,  says,  ‘ ‘ One  of  the  greatest 
forces  in  modern  times  in  the  opening  up  of  Africa  was  the 
invasion  of  that  continent  by  missionaries  of  the  Roman  and 
Protestant  churches  of  Christianity .’ 9 These  instances  are 
cited  merely  to  bring  before  our  minds  the  fact  that  no 
more  important  part  has  been  played  in  the  whole  upward 
movement  of  the  nations  than  that  which  has  been  per- 
formed by  Christian  missions.  The  point  to  be  made  is 
this,  that  by  neglecting  to  direct  our  students  to  the  study 
of  missions  we  have  failed  to  put  into  their  hands  the  instru- 
ment which  more  than  any  other  will  reveal  the  underlying 
causes  of  advance,  social,  educational,  moral,  and  religious. 
The  study  of  Christian  missions,  then,  is  one  of  first-rate 
importance.  It  not  only  opens  up  a new  world  to  the  stu- 
dent who  pursues  it,  but  it  supplies  him  with  principles 
which  he  may  use  widely  in  his  study  of  social  problems 
and  the  history  of  civilization. 

The  third  and  last  criterion  to  be  proposed  is  that  any 
study  must  have  a field  of  its  own  to  gain  admittance  in  the 
curriculum.  Not  that  that  field  is  its 
3.  MUST  HAVE  exclusive  possession.  We  have  gotten  far 
A FIELD  OF  past  that.  The  fact  is,  the  fields  of  investi- 
ITS  OWN  gation  overlap.  Each  study  involves 

many  others  and  must  go  far  afield  to 
gather  all  the  material  necessary  to  its  proper  elucidation. 
The  only  feature  to  be  safeguarded  is  that  each  must  have 
a well  defined  avenue  of  approach  to  the  body  of  fact  which 
is  its  raw  material.  In  other  words,  each  subject  must 
have  a clearly  differentiated  organizing  center  or  dominant 
aim.  This  center  or  aim  will  determine  its  choice  of  ma- 
terial, the  relative  importance  of  facts  to  its  special  pur- 


7 


pose,  and  the  ends  to  be  sought.  Its  scouting  parties  may 
range  far  from  the  main  line,  but  they  have  learned  what 
they  are  after  and  the  use  to  which  it  is  to  be  put.  This 
principle  applies  to  every  college  subject.  Missions  only 
asks  the  same  privilege. 

What,  then,  is  this  distinguishing  center  or  aim  ? 
Briefly,  it  is  this,  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  moral  and 
religious  uplift  of  the  non-Christian 
THE  AIM  OF  peoples.  With  this  aim  we  study  all  the 

MISSION  STUDY  facts  that  shed  light  upon  the  problem. 

IN  COLLEGE  Many  fields  of  study  will  be  asked  to 

make  their  contribution,  but  they  will  be 
investigated  only  in  so  far  as  they  do  so.  The  aim  fixes  our 
goal.  It  determines  what  facts  can  be  used,  and  what  ma- 
terial to  exclude.  It  gives  proportion  to  the  study,  keeping 
lesser  considerations  in  a subordinate  place  and  lifting  the 
points  of  importance  into  the  clear  light  of  emphasis. 
When  we  have  arrived  at  the  end  of  a course  on  any  country 
the  whole  problem  of  its  Christianization  should  lie  open 
before  us. 

In  view  of  what  has  been  said,  the  study  of  Christian 
missions  is  seen  to  resolve  itself  into  the  study  of  moral, 
social,  and  religious  uplift.  This  involves  a 
WHAT  IS  consideration  of  all  those  factors  that  affect 

INVOLVED  the  problem  we  have  set  before  us.  It  involves 

the  study  of  forces  that  disorganize  and  retard 
as  well  as  those  that  conserve  and  uplift.  Among  all  these 
forces  are  those  of  diplomacy,  commerce,  and  education. 
And  under  education  we  must  include  all  the  subtle  lines 
of  intellectual  stimulus  which  are  operating  so  powerfully 
in  the  Orient  today.  Many  in  their  study  would  stop  here. 
The  contention  of  the  student  of  missions  is  that  this  is 
unscientific.  It  fails  to  take  account  of  the  chief  force 
which  is  undermining  the  old  order  and  turning  the  nations 
toward  the  new.  He  that  would  confine  his  attention  to 
forces  whose  center  is  not  religious  has  not  probed  to  the 
vital,  animating  heart  of  a people’s  life. 

With  reference  to  any  period  in  the  history  of  missions 
or  to  any  country  where  the  Christian  forces  are  at  work, 
two  main  questions  present  themselves,  What  is  the  nature 
of  the  task  confronting  the  Christian  propaganda?  and, 


8 


How  has  this  problem  been  met  ? Both  questions  are  essen- 
tial. The  study  of  missionary  operations  is  empty  and  aim- 
less unless  pursued  against  a well  defined  background.  It 
would  be  as  useless  in  its  way  as  the  work  of  the  missionary 
himself  who  might  presume  to  carry  on  his  work  ignorant 
of  and  consequently  out  of  touch  and  sympathy  with  the 
people  he  would  benefit. 

First,  then,  comes  the  study  of  the  conditions  which 
determine  the  missionary  task.  What  kind  of  people  are 
they?  How  do  they  think  and  act? 
1.  CONDITIONS  ON  What  are  their  needs?  These  are 
MISSION  FIELDS  only  hints  at  the  kind  of  questions 
which  present  themselves.  They  must 
be  answered  with  some  degree  of  fullness  before  proceeding 
to  the  study  of  missionary  operations.  The  fact  of  it  is,  this 
half  of  the  subject  is  so  important  that  frequently  it  will 
overtop  the  other  in  amount  of  time  spent  in  its  investiga- 
tion. We  simply  vnust  feel  the  need  for  Christianity  and 
the  problem  which  Christianity  faces  before  the  work  of 
missions  assumes  any  significance. 

This  part  of  the  study  involves  the  study  of  geography, 
history,  social  organization,  and  religious  life.  These  fur- 
nish the  background  by  exhibiting  the  task 
GEOGRAPHY  of  Christianity.  First,  geography.  Not  a 
complete  study,  of  course,  but  such  a sur- 
vey as  shall  lay  before  us  the  physical  conditions  that  de- 
termine a people’s  life.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  is  not  a 
study  of  geography  for  geography’s  sake,  but  for  what  it 
may  contribute  to  the  solution  of  the  missionary  problem. 
It  recognizes  that  environment  has  a part  in  determining 
the  life  of  a people,  and  we  seek  to  weigh  this  influence  and 
discover  its  effect. 

History  comes  next.  The  past  out  of  which  a nation  has 
come  is  the  best  index  of  what  the  people  are  today.  Only 
in  crises  do  men  and  nations  reveal  all  that  is 
HISTORY  in  them,  what  they  are  capable  of,  what  they 
aspire  after,  and  what  they  are  willing  to  sacri- 
fice. We  discover  who  the  people  are,  of  what  races  they 
are  composed,  what  features  are  essential  to  their  civiliza- 
tion and  what  have  been  superimposed,  what  are  their 
national  ideals  and  heroes,  how  they  have  been  crushed 


9 


and  cowed  by  oppressors,  and  what  they  long  for  in  the 
time  to  come.  Each  of  these  features  helps  to  determine 
the  task  of  the  missionary. 

Closely  connected  with  the  study  of  history  is  that  of 
social  organization.  The  forms  of  social  organization  de- 
termine the  direction  of  the  advance  of  a people  and  the 
resistance  that  will  be  offered  to  any  change.  Where  the 
social  unit  is  the  family  instead  of  the  individual,  an  under- 
standing of  the  difference  this  makes  is  an  essential  to  the 
appreciation  of  the  missionary  task.  Mutual  responsibility 
and  the  consequent  lack  of  individual  initiative,  the  binding 
obligation  of  hoary  customs,  all  create  situations  to  which 
the  missionary  propaganda  must  accommodate  itself.  The 
inexorableness  of  caste  regulations  in  India  is  the  classic 
illustration  of  the  power  of  custom,  and  to  understand  it  is 
to  be  able  to  catch  the  meaning  of  the  real  problem  of 
India. 

Quite  as  essential  as  any  of  these  lines  of  investigation 
is  the  study  of  the  religious  life  of  a people.  A distinction 
seems  necessary  between  the  more  formal 
RELIGIOUS  study  of  the  religions  of  a people  and  what 
LIFE  has  just  been  described  as  the  study  of  their 

religious  life.  The  comparative  study  of  re- 
ligion has  a field  of  its  own,  as  has  its  close  neighbor,  the 
history  of  religion.  The  formal  study  of  any  religion  de- 
mands a careful  investigation  of  its  sacred  books,  the  lives 
of  its  founder  and  its  saints  and  reformers,  the  intricacies 
of  the  cult,  the  development  of  its  creed,  the  peculiarities 
of  its  sects,  its  effect  upon  individual  and  social  life,  and, 
finally,  its  prospects  for  the  future.  All  this  has  its  impor- 
tant place,  but  our  aim  is  somewhat  different.  It  is  deter- 
mined for  us  by  the  same  principle  which  has  been  our 
guide  with  respect  to  the  use  of  the  material  furnished  by 
geography,  history,  and  descriptive  sociology.  Making  use 
of  the  material  furnished  by  the  investigations  of  compara- 
tive religion  and  the  history  of  religion,  we  set  ourselves  to 
discover  what  light  the  religions  throw  upon  the  problem  of 
a people’s  Christianization.  To  what  extent  are  the  people 
religious  ? what  forms  have  their  religious  ideas  taken  ? what 
have  their  religions  done  for  them?  what  is  the  secret  of 
their  influence?  what  have  they  done  to  mould  individual 


10 


and  national  character?  wherein  have  they  failed?  what 
are  their  strong  points  ? These  and  similar  questions  deter- 
mine our  aim.  It  is  the  study  of  their  religious  life  rather 
than  the  study  of  religion.  Such  a study  must  result  not 
only  in  presenting  a most  important  feature  of  the  mis- 
sionary task,  but  also  in  laying  a foundation  for  the  subse- 
quent and  more  formal  study  of  religion. 

Just  here  it  may  be  admitted  very  frankly  that  such  a 
study  of  religious  life  as  has  been  suggested  will  almost 
inevitably  he  conducted  with  the  conviction  that  Chris- 
tianity is  the  final  faith  and  the  only  adequate  solution  of 
the  needs  of  mankind.  The  point  to  make  clear  is  that 
there  is  nothing  in  this  viewpoint  to  prevent  an  altogether 
fair  treatment  of  other  religions.  While  Christianity  may 
claim  to  hold  the  truth,  even  all  truth,  it  does  not  deny  to 
others  a measure  of  truth.  Dr.  R.  A.  Hume  of  India  has 
suggested  that  it  would  be  more  difficult  to  believe  in  God 
had  He  given  no  truth  to  other  peoples  than  it  is  to  recog- 
nize that  all  religions  have  a measure  of  truth  and  that  all 
the  truth  they  contain  will  be  built  into  the  structure  of  the 
Christianity  which  is  to  he  erected  in  each  land  to  which 
the  gospel  has  been  carried.  An  eager  desire  to  discover 
truth  wherever  it  may  be  found  and  a frank  recognition  of 
it  as  from  God  Himself  should  be  the  distinctive  mark  of 
the  student  of  Christian  missions. 

Let  us  suppose  now  that  we  have  a sufficient  back- 
ground, that  the  task  before  Christianity  is  made  clear. 

How  has  the  problem  been  met?  This 
2.  HOW  HAS  investigation  almost  of  necessity  falls 
THE  PROBLEM  under  five  heads.  And  again  we  are  com- 
BEEN  MET?  pelled  to  summarize,  merely  indicating 
the  lines  of  approach  and  the  specific  ob- 
ject to  be  attained  under  each  head. 

First,  the  history  of  missionary  operations.  Here  we 
are  not  concerned  with  details,  or  even  with  the  story  of 
specific  mission  boards.  We  must  keep  in 
HISTORY  OF  mind  that  it  is  the  college  undergraduate 
MISSIONARY  we  are  dealing  with.  Our  purpose  is  to 
OPERATIONS  discover  the  causes  of  success  and  failure, 
the  important  turning  points  in  the  ac- 
count, the  relation  of  the  history  with  political  events,  the 


11 


outstanding  characters  and  what  they  achieved.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  study  of  the  history  of  missions  in  any  particular 
country,  a most  important  phase  of  the  study  is  that  cover- 
ing the  whole  course  of  Christian  missions  from  the  time  of 
the  Apostles  to  the  present  day.  Such  courses  deserve 
fuller  mention  than  is  possible  within  the  limits  of  this 
article.  They  should  attempt  to  sketch  the  manner  in 
which  the  Christian  church  has  in  the  past  overcome 
obstacles  and  accomplished  its  results.  Such  courses  would 
naturally  treat  of  three  important  periods,  the  conquest  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  the  winning  of  Northern  Europe,  and 
the  modern  occupation  of  the  world,  in  each  case  the  work 
of  the  Christian  forces  being  presented  against  the  peculiar 
background  of  the  age  in  which  they  were  operating. 

Following  the  history  of  missionary  operations  would 
come  a study  of  the  special  problems  in  the  field  under 
consideration.  These  are  suggested  by  such 
PROBLEMS  characteristic  features  as  caste  in  India,  an- 
OF  FIELDS  cestor  worship  in  China,  the  seclusion  of 
women  in  Moslem  countries,  and  so  on.  What 
resistance  do  they  offer,  and  what  form  do  they  compel  the 
Christian  propaganda  to  take?  This  matter  of  special 
problems  determines  somewhat  the  choice  of  fields  for 
study.  It  would  be  impossible  in  college  courses  to  study 
every  field.  We  in  the  college  are  compelled  to  limit  our 
work  to  a few,  well  adapted  courses — well  adapted,  that  is, 
to  the  purposes  of  a college  course.  No  field  or  country  is 
ideal  any  more  for  the  study  of  history  than  for  missions. 
We  must  take  our  material  as  it  comes  and  make  the  best  of 
it,  but  when  a choice  must  be  made,  some  fields  are  more 
important,  and  this  must  determine  our  choice. 

The  methods  of  the  Christian  mission  must  also  be  in- 
vestigated. The  work  of  the  evangelist,  the  physician,  the 
teacher,  the  writer  and  publisher,  and  the 
MISSIONARY  industrial  worker  is  different  in  each  field, 
METHODS  and  it  is  only  by  a study  of  the  function  of 
each  that  an  understanding  can  be  had  of 
the  force  of  the  impact  of  Christianity  on  the  non- Christian 
world.  A science  of  missions  is  now  being  evolved  after  a 
hundred  years  of  experiment.  Keen  criticism  of  methods, 
standardization,  unity  of  plans  and  purpose  are  features  in 


12 


the  most  recent  phase  of  the  missionary  propaganda.  As  a 
result  there  is  now  the  beginning  of  an  extensive  and 
scientifically  accurate  literature  on  which  investigations 
can  be  based  and  to  which  students  can  be  referred. 

The  two  last  heads  to  be  mentioned  are  a study  of  the 
results  attained  and  the  present  outlook.  Those  results 
which  are  not  to  be  tabulated  are  to  be 
RESULTS  AND  considered  as  well  as  those  which  have 

OUTLOOK  been  reduced  to  statistical  tables.  The 

plans  now  being  laid  to  co-ordinate  so  far 
as  possible  the  methods  of  collecting  and  tabulating  statis- 
tics will  render  great  assistance  in  making  effective  this 
part  of  the  work.  With  reference  to  the  study  of  the  out- 
look in  each  country,  we  give  ourselves  not  to  unbalanced 
prophecy,  but  to  careful  weighing  of  all  the  factors  that 
enter  into  the  present  situation,  and  from  this  estimate  the 
lines  of  advance  that  must  be  followed  and  the  prospect  of 
success  or  failure  which  may  be  evident  at  any  point. 
There  has  been  too  much  easy  and  unreasoned  optimism; 
there  is  needed  a careful  calculation  of  possibilities  in  view 
of  all  the  facts.  But  let  it  be  all  the  facts.  As  Christians 
we  believe  in  the  unlimited  resources  at  our  disposal,  and 
these  are  among  the  facts  that  must  be  considered.  The 
greatest  fact  is  that  God  is  with  us,  and  this  determines  our 
interpretation  of  all  other  facts,  whatever  they  may  be. 

While  of  course  these  five  points  cannot  be  differen- 
tiated in  the  progress  of  a course  quite  as  they  have  been 
here,  they  are  all  necessary  to  an  understanding  of  the  prob- 
lem of  the  uplift  of  the  non- Christian  peoples.  Throughout 
the  discussion  enough  has  probably  been  said  to  indicate 
the  significance  of  the  dominant  aim  of  a department  of 
Christian  missions.  Its  chief  interest  is  not  that  of  church 
history  whose  center  is  organized  Christianity,  its  history, 
its  relationship,  its  fortunes  in  the  past  and  its  present 
condition.  It  is  neither  history,  nor  sociology,  nor  religion ; 
it  is  a study  of  race  development,  a study,  if  you  will,  of 
civilization,  of  the  uplift  of  backward  peoples,  of  individual 
and  social  advance,  of  all  the  forces  that  make  for  better- 
ment. It  would  lay  bare  the  steps  and  the  problems  con- 
nected with  the  rise  of  savage,  half-civilized,  and  even  rela- 
tively advanced  peoples  into  the  family  of  nations,  with  a 


13 


civilization  based  upon  what  we  consider  the  only  adequate 
foundation,  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Many  questions  relative  to  this  whole  subject  have  not 
been  considered.  The  problem  of  courses  is  only  partially 
solved.  Courses  on  the  Expansion  of  Christianity,  before 
and  since  the  Reformation,  the  Making  of  New  Japan,  the 
Evolution  of  China,  the  Mohammedan  World,  the  Rise  of 
Latin  America,  the  Problem  of  Africa,  and  the  Trans- 
formation of  India  are  now  being  offered. 

Should  courses  on  missions  be  elective  or  required  ? One 
thing  is  quite  clear,  that  the  wise  course  has  been  pursued 
in  restricting  the  work  in  missions  to  sopho- 
SPECIAL  mores  and  upper  classmen.  But  the  larger 

PROBLEMS  problem  is  relative  to  the  question  of  missions 

as  an  elective  or  a required  study.  The  policy 
up  to  the  present  has  been  to  put  these  courses  among  the 
electives,  and  the  writer  feels  that  this  has  been  wise.  An- 
other suggestion  is  made  with  mingled  hesitation  and  con- 
fidence. From  one  very  important  angle  of  approach  the 
courses  in  missions  have  the  same  aim  as  courses  in  his- 
tory, namely,  the  tracing  of  causes  and  effects  in  the  line 
of  a definite  historical  development.  So  then  it  is  possible 
that  courses  in  missions  might  be  considered  as  fulfilling 
some  part  of  the  requirement  for  a major  in  history,  as 
these  are  now  scheduled  in  the  American  college  course. 

Take  another  subject,  that  of  Christian  evidences.  The 
evidences  of  Christianity  may  be  separated  into  the  formal 
study  of  evidences  and  the  indirect  study  of  Christianity 
in  action,  in  opposition  to  the  forces  that  would  nullify 
her  influence.  Both  should  bring  the  same  result,  the 
conviction  that  Christianity  is  a living  force  in  the  world, 
with  sufficient  intrinsic  power,  intellectually,  morally,  and 
spiritually,  to  win  its  way  among  men.  Without  doubt 
formal  evidences  have  an  important  place  in  displaying  the 
place  and  power  of  our  faith,  but  the  question  comes 
whether  courses  capable  of  arriving  at  the  same  destina- 
tion might  not  be  considered  as  fulfilling,  in  part  at  least, 
the  requirement  for  Christian  evidences  as  now  demanded 
by  the  curriculum  in  many  of  our  colleges. 

This  thought  of  the  study  of  missions  as  a Christian 
apologetic  must  conclude  this  article  already  too  long. 


14 


There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  study  of  missions  is  the  ap- 
plication of  the  pragmatic  test  to  the  Christian  religion,  as 
well  as  to  the  faiths  with  which  it  comes  into  contact.  It  is 
a true  comparative  study  of  religion,  based  on  results  in 
life  and  conduct.  A better  understanding  of  Christianity 
cannot  but  result  from  the  study.  In  fact,  this  will  almost 
inevitably  be  one  of  the  most  important  contributions  these 
courses  will  make.  To  cultivate  a more  intelligent  faith, 
based  on  a wider  induction  than  is  otherwise  possible,  is  no 
insignificant  aim  in  these  days  when  faith  is  not  strong  and 
when  all  the  aids  that  can  be  had  may  well  be  used.  And 
what  better  view  can  be  presented  than  Christianity  in  its 
most  characteristic  activity?  Here  we  see  Christianity 
seeking  to  win  men  to  its  Christ  and  to  set  up  the  Kingdom 
of  God  in  lands  where  the  gospel  is  a strange  sound  and 
where  it  must  succeed  by  virtue  of  its  own  inner  truth  and 
winsomeness. 


15 


mt 


